Analysis on the Feasability of Airborne GNSS-R Receivers for Weather Nowcasting and Target Detection

Weather forecast relies to a large extent on data acquired by satellite. LEO polar satellites provide global coverage, but poor spatial resolution. GEO satellites provide a better coverage and revisit time, at expenses of poorer spatial resolution. LEO constellations of small satellites offer the promise of global coverage with good spatial resolution and revisit time. However, hosted payloads on aircrafts offer the potential of very high resolution and very low revisit time for regional applications. In this work, the idea of equipping commercial airliners with low-cost Global Navigation Satellite System - Reflec-to meter (GNSS-R) receivers is explored, with emphasis on real-world data and the implications the expected scientific yield would offer.